Shusui
Shusui (秋水 / Shūsui, lit. “Autumn Water”) is a mage and ex Rune Knight who discards his original name and eventually becomes the leader of the independent guild “Neo Persona”. At first his skill with using magic wasn’t very good, but he eventually finds his magical calling and becomes quite a respectable mage. Appearance Shusui’s appearance is something that not many would remark upon. He is rather attractive, but he isn’t the kind of bombshell that sticks in one’s memory easily. He stands at just above average height and has a medium physique that is muscular but lean with a handsome face. His skin is lightly tanned. His most notable feature is the combination of his white hair and silvery white eyes. When first introduced Shusui had short hair underneath his standard Rune Knight uniform, but after he defects from the organization he grows his hair out, with it eventually becoming very long and wavy, reaching at least to his waist. In place of the uniform he originally just wore the bare essentials for the planned climate – such as a shirt, trousers, boots and a plain jacket – due to not having funds available. Said clothes were usually also second-hand for a good while. Personality Shusui is introverted and a bit shy, but he will speak up if need be - especially if faced with what he perceives to be an injustice. He is also generally kind and compassionate, willing to help others and be patient if he needs to. He will fight hard for what he believes in, though at times his emotions may cloud his proper judgment. When, at the very beginning of the story, he was confronted with the order to kill a teenage girl who was created from questionable research Shusui was unable to accept it and turned his back on the Rune Knights, knocking out his commanding officer and fleeing, carrying the girl away. Though as soon as he got to a place to rest he realized that he had no idea how he was going to handle things, but he remained resolute in his decision to give this girl the chance to live her own life even if she was cloned from another. Showing that while his heart is often in the right place, he doesn’t always think things through enough when acting on it. However, at the same time, it is this kindness that draws others to him. His kindness and honesty makes others feel that he is easy to trust, which earns him multiple allies throughout the story. However it also earns him multiple people aiming to take advantage of his supposed naivety. Curiously despite his good nature and being a part of the Rune Knights prior to the story’s beginning he is familiar with and seems to be supplied by the Underground Guild “Gungrave” for his weapons’ servicing needs. How he managed to come across this guild and keep using their services without knowledge from the Rune Knights in charge of teaching him about firearms is a mystery. Shusui also shows himself to be terrified of ghosts, as early on in the story when confronted with a supposedly haunted lodging he wishes to leave immediately along with Haruka but ends up forced to stay as the house becomes sealed by magic. History Born to a family of skilled mages, Shusui’s magical development being below average gave him a negative self-view even though he was constantly assured that it was okay. Feeling he didn’t have the skill necessary to join a mage guild he enlisted in the Rune Knights, hoping to find his magical calling there. While his magic skills proved consistently average among the commonly-seen-as-weak Rune Knight main forces, his physical combat skills were rated as being well above average level for his ranking and he proved himself an impressive marksman. Still not feeling that was adequate enough he tried to explore as many kinds of basic magic as he could, but only became a master of none. Ultimately he was chosen to receive specialized firearm training, though he still felt there was something missing. His skills proved sufficient enough for him to be selected to take part in a secret mission: Raiding the base of a Dark Guild known to be in league with the weakened Grimoire Heart and destroy any possible research held inside. It is during this raid that the story begins. Synopsis Upon infiltrating the base of a Dark Guild Shusui finds the entrance to a hidden laboratory, wherein he finds the remnants of a “Lost Magic Cloning” project. Though most of the test subjects were either shriveled corpses or disposed of entirely, a single teenage-looking girl in a pod filled with a mysterious fluid appeared perfectly healthy. Upon freeing the girl his commanding officer appears before him, congratulating him on finding the hidden lab and ordering him to destroy the girl. Unable to believe what he just heard, Shusui tries several times to explain that the girl was still alive. However his c.o. still orders him to kill her, calling her a thing that should not ever have existed. Refusing to comply with those orders he uses his Guns Magic to fire a Tranquilizer Shot at his c.o., announcing his resignation from the Rune Knights. He then takes the girl and sneaks her out of the dark guild facility and away from the Rune Knights. Taking refuge in a mountainside cave, Shusui lights a fire but can’t help but fall asleep despite his attempts to stay awake. When he awakens to someone huddling up to him he sees that the girl had woken up. Talking to her, she begins expressing an odd sensation of having knowledge without any memories to match it. Deciding that there was no point in trying to keep the truth from her he told her that she was a clone of a mage named “Wendy Marvell.” She then commented to him that knowing that she was a clone somehow wasn’t as scary as the fact she did not have memories, prompting Shusui to tell her that she would have to start making memories from now onward. She agreed with that sentiment, choosing to give herself her own name alongside her savoir who opted to cast aside his old name as well. After some time spent thinking she commented that it was hard to think of a new name for herself, to which Shusui replied that they should name each other. He gives her the name “Haruka”, and she in turn names him “Shusui”. After deciding on this and giving Haruka as much of his Rune Knight uniform as he could spare to cover up with in place of a towel the two set back out. Fortunately they avoided the Rune Knights, but they did not make it very far due to Haruka’s body not being in shape from disuse. They continued moving at a slow but steady pace toward a town where Shusui contacted a guild called "Gungrave" seeking a loan for travelling money. He bought Haruka a new set of clothes to wear, as well as a change for himself, and they spent some time thinking about where to go next. They decide to head toward the border of Fiore to avoid the Rune Knights and Magic Council. Along the way Shusui helped Haruka get her body into shape and taught her some basic fighting techniques. As they stop for the night inside a seemingly-abandoned home to seek shelter from the rain, Haruka wakes up screaming. Asking what was wrong, Shusui is informed that Haruka had just seen some kind of aparition. When he sees a similar phantom in the edge of his vision Shusui becomes frightened and wishes to leave - a sentiment which Haruka agrees to - but finds all exits of the home sealed off... Magic & Abilities Physical Abilities Multi-Range Combatant: Over the course of the story Shusui develops into a fighter that can do well at both close- and long-range scenarios. What he lacks in pure defensive power he makes up for with versatility, agility, and a surprising amount of sheer endurance. Enhanced Strength: Shusui develops an impressive amount of strength along the course of the story, enough so to punch someone into a wall and almost break it in the process. He possesses enough strength to cleave through stone or in some cases even metal with just a swing of his weapon. Enhanced Agility: When wielding light weapons Shusui proves to be a very agile fighter, using acrobatic flips and speed to his great advantage. However, as logic would dictate, when holding heavy weapons such as greatswords he is not nearly as agile. Enhanced Endurance: Despite not having the best defensive prowess among mages Shusui still proves himself to be quite durable and capable of taking a royal beating and then some before giving in. However he still ends up riddled with injuries even if he can truck on through them, needing time for major healing between hard-fought battles. Magic Requip: The Musketeer (換装 ザ・マスケッティアー, Kansō Za Masukettiā): Requip is Shusui’s main form of magic, with which he becomes very skilled over the course of the story. It is a kind of magic that allows him to swap weapons quickly and at will. His particular brand of Requip is called The Musketeer. As his skill with this magic grew Shusui became increasingly skilled in mixing-and-matching his various weapons, earning him a bit of recognition and the epithet “Gunblade”. *· Sword Magic (剣の魔法 Ken no Mahō): To go along with his Requip Magic Shusui is a user of Sword Magic. As the name implies this magic is primarily centered on the use of swords, though Shusui’s personal definition also extends to other forms of melee weapons. Through using this magic Shusui can use his weapons to perform different magical attacks. *· Guns Magic (銃弾魔法, ガンズ・マジック, Ganzu Majikku): The other side of his Requip Magic deals with ranged weapons, primarily firearms. By loading different clips into his guns Shusui can use a wide variety of magic effects to his advantage. o Bullet Magic: Rather than firing conventional magic ammunition Shusui’s guns revolve around using a form of Bullet Magic. Firing bolts of magic from charged lacrima crystals within the clips. Ice Magic: Shusui is a proficient user of Ice Magic, with it being his secondary main magic. His skill with this magic is such to give him a second epithet, the “White Wolf”. *'Ice-Make Magic:' Some of Shusui’s skill with ice lies more in the definition of this magic than just Ice Magic. Fire Magic: Shusui has rudimentary skill in Fire Magic, though by his own volition he is terrible at using it directly. However his knowledge is at least enough to help start a campfire. He says that this is part of Rune Knight Basic Training. Light Magic: Shusui has rudimentary skill in Light Magic, capable of producing an orb of light over the palm of his hand to use as a torch. He says this is part of Rune Knight basic training. Illusion Dispel: Shusui has some knowledge in illusion magic, being capable of counteracting it somewhat effectively once he realizes that he is under the influence of it. Though he could not completely dispel a wide-area illusion magic he could tear away at the individual illusions within until he found the caster of the magic and defeated them. When asked if this was also part of basic training he says that it wasn't but was a personal hobby of his for a time. Relationships Haruka: Shusui is quite close to Haruka and cares for her a lot. In fact, over the course of the story, he gradually falls in love with her. He wishes to do whatever he can to protect her, and at first feels discouraged that he’s the one who is often protected by her while providing support fire from the back lines. However kind words from Haruka herself on how much she values him helps give him the strength to overcome those thoughts. Medea: Cattleya Dahlia: Lilith: Trivia *Shusui was originally to be named Touma (冬榴''Tōma; lit. “Winter Pomegranate”'') to fit a “seasons and plants” theme, but after some alterations to the story and the dissolving of the original four-person team idea he was renamed to a more direct reflection of Haruka’s “Spring” themed name. He was also renamed because his original planned name had the same pronunciation as the King of Fiore’s name. *Shusui has a habit of holding his pistols upside down and firing them with his pinkies. His instructors tried to get him to lose this habit but to no avail, though he somehow proves rather accurate with the pistols anyway. When stuck in close-quarters combat with just the guns he uses this grip to aid in using the guns as blunt-force weapons similar to tonfa. This trait was inspired by Death The Kid's fighting style from Soul Eater.